How does Sunderland’s net spending during the 2024/25 season compare to their Championship rivals?

Sunderland are arguably ahead of where many experts believed they would be as we head into the final third of the Championship season.

There was an air of the unknown and more than a little intrigue when former Lorient head coach Regis Le Bris was confirmed as permanent successor to Michael Beale during the summer months - but the Frenchman has led his side firmly into the hunt for promotion into the Premier League. Saturday’s home draw with Watford may have felt like a missed opportunity - but the Black Cats will still head into Wednesday night’s home clash with Luton Town sat just five points adrift of the top two.

The unquestionable progress under Le Bris has been aided by some shrewd moves in the transfer market, not only during the Frenchman’s reign, but in previous transfer windows as the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume were tempted to Wearside for fairly modest fees. Academy graduates like Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and Chris Rigg have also become integral members of a squad that will hope to end the club’s absence from the Premier League this season.

The closure of the January transfer window will bring a close to Sunderland’s business for the season and the signing of Wilson Isidor will arguably go down as their best piece of business over the last two windows. The French forward hit the ground running after joining on loan from Zenit and the news he has now made a permanent switch to Wearside brought a wave of delight from supporters. There have been other potential signings but the jury is still out on Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi as they aim to find their feet in red and white.

In terms of outgoings, Jack Clarke remains the only player to depart Wearside on a permanent deal as a £14m offer from Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town tempted the Black Cats into a sale. Bradley Dack, Jack Diamond and Ellis Taylor were all released during the summer and the likes of Pierre Ekwah, Adil Aouchiche and Nectarios Triantis have all secured loan moves over the last two windows.

With the transfer business for the season now over, we take a look at how Sunderland’s net spend for the 2024/25 season compares to their rivals across the Championship with the help of figures from TransferMarkt.

What is the net spend of Sunderland and their Championship rivals across the 2024/25 season?

1st: Leeds United - €130.48m profit 2nd. Burnley - €53.52m profit 3rd: Watford - €26.72m profit 4th: Sheffield United - €25.12m profit 5th: Hull City - €11.27m profit 6th: Blackburn Rovers - €8.61m profit 7th: Norwich City - €6.85m profit 8th: Sunderland - €5.95m 9th: Plymouth Argyle - €5.68m profit 10th: Millwall - €4.06m profit 11th: Middlesbrough - €1.6m profit 12th: Derby County - €1.31m profit 13th: Cardiff City - €0.18m loss 14th: Stoke City - €2.16m loss 15th: Queens Park Rangers - €3.67m loss 16th: Oxford United - €3.82m loss 17th: West Bromwich Albion - €4.11m loss 18th: Sheffield Wednesday - €4.35m loss 19th: Portsmouth - €4.60m loss 20th: Preston North End - €4.63m loss 21st: Bristol City - €4.90m loss 22nd: Swansea City - €5.43m loss 23rd: Luton Town - €7.35m loss 24th: Coventry City - €17.25m loss